Kristine Brown joined the Bucknell community this past December as Vice President for Strategic Communications & Marketing. Her previous role at Rider University in New Jersey, where she acted as vice president of external affairs, “incorporated a lot of things” to ultimately give her a foundation in “university partnerships” and facilitating success. “The Bucknellian” sat down with Brown to discuss her new role, experience at Bucknell so far and to what she’s looking ahead in the coming months.
“Our division encompasses a lot of different areas,” Brown explained of what her new role at Bucknell covers. “Marketing, oversight of Bucknell.edu. social media, photography, videography. We support enrollment. We support advancement.” Of course, as part of the communication side of things, she also oversees “all of the external media [and] internal communications,” as well as “the Bucknell Magazine,” which is produced “in-house.”
What first drew Brown to Bucknell was “its reputation.” During her interview process, Brown “had the opportunity to meet a lot of people,” some of them students who seemed all to be “thriving and doing really well” as Bucknellians— a reality that reinforced to her just how “committed everybody is to this University,” from students to staff, and how much that community is reflected in the “really great reputation” that enticed Brown initially. Her motivation boils down to a desire to “take on a role where […] there was an [existing] great team,” but also opportunities to grow and “work with the [University] President and the senior team.” So far, her experience at Bucknell has met her expectations and excitement.
Brown and her team have played a role in “advancing some of the exciting things” going on in, around and about campus, including (but not limited to) “a big fundraising campaign” that will be officially rolled out in the fall. “There are very well-formed strategic planning processes underway,” in Brown’s opinion, that are “setting Bucknell up for the next stage of its future.” She’s “excited” to be a part of these strategies, particularly those which target “enrollment growth.” As the first in her family to go college, Brown understands just how much a college education and the collegiate experience can “transform” a student’s life “in a lot of different ways.” Fundamentally, she wants to continue to facilitate environments where “unsure students” are able to “come in […] have a very transformative experience […] and then set off in the world” to execute their calling. “I find that to be really special work.”
“I hope that—I’ve only been here for a little over 2 months—I have the opportunity to engage more with students,” Brown said of her future plans. She “really enjoy[s] that” student interaction, especially as she continues to work to “understand all the workings of a complex organization” like Bucknell; the “who’s who, where is everything,” and general “understanding campus.”
Students’ experience is what ties Brown’s role together. “Student voices are really important” to “a lot of the things” that Brown’s team does. She notes “recruiting” as one example where “hearing from students who have just gone through the recruitment process and have chosen Bucknell as their place for the next four years of their life” is almost essential. “You went through a period of time where you got lots of mail, you got lots of e-mail, you got lots of stuff communicated to you, you visited a lot of schools,” Brown explained. “I like to hear from students about what worked, what didn’t work, [and] how [they ultimately got] to Bucknell.” From an overall student body perspective, as “a communications department” for which students are a significant chunk of their audience, Brown wants to “know what students think.” Her offices are located in Judd House on University Ave; she and the majority of her team, including student interns, work out of those offices on regular business days.
